Other characters

The author

The unnamed narrator, who refers to himself as the author, is a surprise character in Paul Auster’s novel City of Glass. We find out about him only at the very end, when the author announces his presence unexpectedly: “I returned home from my trip to Africa in February, just hours before a snowstorm began to fall on New York” (Chapter 13, 83%). 

We are not given any information about the author’s identity. We do not know, for example, what he does for a living, although it is quite likely that he too is a writer, since he puts together the story he reads in Quinn’s red notebook. 

The only thing that we know for sure is that the author is Paul Auster’s friend, and Auster considers the author “the only person he could trust” (Chapter 13, 83%). It is never made clear why Auster feels this way about the author, however, it does show that the narrator is dependable.

The author also seems competent and insightful. While Paul Auster has been looking for Quinn for months, the author immediately guesses where Quinn might have gone. Through this flash of insight, the author seems more like a detective himself.

The author ...